Frustrated Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane took another swipe at CAF, saying "they got what they wanted" following their 0-2 defeat to Wydad Casablanca in the Champions League final on Monday at Stade Mohamed V.
CAF controversially handed Morocco the rights to host the match in Casablanca, in Wydad's home ground, just weeks before Monday's match.
Although tickets were supposed to be allocated equally between both sides, Wydad’s fans as expected outnumbered the small Red Devils contingent that made the trip to Casablanca, with CAF also handing the supposed empty Ahly seats to the home side fans.
With the defeat, Mosimane now missed out on the chance to become the first coach to lift a third successive Champions League title.
“We had our chances. Percy [Tau] had his one-on-one with the goalkeeper. If he scored that, it would’ve been different,” Mosimane said in a press conference.
“What I’m happy about, we came here and we played football and in football, you can never say that the better team lost because the one that wins is the one that is a good team.
“But we came here to a neutral venue with 50-50 supporters sharing the stadium and that’s part of football. I think everybody behind the decision got what they wanted. We move on.”
The outspoken coach was also not happy with the performance of referee Victor Gomes during the match. “The referee took three minutes to replace his watch,” he said.
“Also, the ball boys took a lot of time to bring the balls back to the players, and that was a normal thing to happen, especially that we play at Wydad’s ground. Eventually, it was normal that Wydad won the title.”
Wydad winger Zouhair El Moutaraji scored both goals as they claimed glory and a third continental crown after triumphs in 1992 and 2017.
El Moutaraji scored his first with a thunderous long-range strike and grabbed a second from close range.
Ahly failed in a bid to have the match postponed and moved to a neutral territory after their appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport was turned down last week.
Ahly’s loss is more disappointment for Egyptian football in 2022 after the country were beaten by Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon and then lost to the same team in the playoffs for a place at this year's World Cup in Qatar.
– Additional reporting by Reuters
CAF got what it wanted, groans Pitso after loss
Mosimane shattered after Wydad sink Ahly in final
Image: Juan Medina
Frustrated Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane took another swipe at CAF, saying "they got what they wanted" following their 0-2 defeat to Wydad Casablanca in the Champions League final on Monday at Stade Mohamed V.
CAF controversially handed Morocco the rights to host the match in Casablanca, in Wydad's home ground, just weeks before Monday's match.
Although tickets were supposed to be allocated equally between both sides, Wydad’s fans as expected outnumbered the small Red Devils contingent that made the trip to Casablanca, with CAF also handing the supposed empty Ahly seats to the home side fans.
With the defeat, Mosimane now missed out on the chance to become the first coach to lift a third successive Champions League title.
“We had our chances. Percy [Tau] had his one-on-one with the goalkeeper. If he scored that, it would’ve been different,” Mosimane said in a press conference.
“What I’m happy about, we came here and we played football and in football, you can never say that the better team lost because the one that wins is the one that is a good team.
“But we came here to a neutral venue with 50-50 supporters sharing the stadium and that’s part of football. I think everybody behind the decision got what they wanted. We move on.”
The outspoken coach was also not happy with the performance of referee Victor Gomes during the match. “The referee took three minutes to replace his watch,” he said.
“Also, the ball boys took a lot of time to bring the balls back to the players, and that was a normal thing to happen, especially that we play at Wydad’s ground. Eventually, it was normal that Wydad won the title.”
Wydad winger Zouhair El Moutaraji scored both goals as they claimed glory and a third continental crown after triumphs in 1992 and 2017.
El Moutaraji scored his first with a thunderous long-range strike and grabbed a second from close range.
Ahly failed in a bid to have the match postponed and moved to a neutral territory after their appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport was turned down last week.
Ahly’s loss is more disappointment for Egyptian football in 2022 after the country were beaten by Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon and then lost to the same team in the playoffs for a place at this year's World Cup in Qatar.
– Additional reporting by Reuters
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